


how lovely are thy branches

by theneverending



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Tree, Fluff, Injury, M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 23:06:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13134105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theneverending/pseuds/theneverending
Summary: harry wants a real christmas tree, louis is a bit of a grinch.





	how lovely are thy branches

**Author's Note:**

> hiiii, i'm reposting this from an earlier fic i was going to write, but decided this would be good on its own as a one shot. i hope you like it!

"Merry Christmas, Louis!" Harry shouted that morning, wrapping his arms around his half-asleep boyfriend. 

Louis groaned because for one, the sun hadn't peaked through the windows yet and that meant it was absolutely too early for Louis to be awake. It also didn't help that today was not Christmas, but rather, December first. 

" _No_ ," Louis said, struggling to turn his back to the overexcited boy.

"Don't be such a Grinch, Louis," Harry responded, moving closer to Louis, "Didn't you say we could go shopping for a Christmas tree today?" 

Muffled by the pillow, Louis replied, "I don't recall." 

Harry sighed, giving up on trying to cuddle, "Last night Gemma was telling me about this Christmas tree farm not too far from here. That's where she got her tree this year, she said it feels much more authentic and traditional than a fake tree."

Louis turned around, giving his boyfriend a confused look, "Are you asking me or telling me that you want a real tree for Christmas?"

In response, Harry gave Louis an all too convincing smile. He batted his eyelashes innocently, and really, who was Louis to upset his favorite person in the world?

-

A few hours later, the boys found themselves at the Christmas tree farm. Unbeknownst to them, the tree farm also doubled as a farm for actual animals. Louis had stood back as Harry excitedly approached all the different farm animals, attempting to pet ducks and talk to the horses. Louis wasn't really sure how he fell in love with this idiot, but he did. 

The cows, though, were particularly interesting. Everything was perfectly normal until one of the cows mounted another cow right in front of them. 

"Louis, it's us!" Harry whispered, and Louis rolled his eyes playfully. 

"Are you calling me a cow?" Louis asked, pretending to take offense to the statement. 

Harry laughed, still watching what was unfolding in front of him, "In theory, yes. Oh my God,  _Louis_ , the cows are having literal sex." 

"As opposed to figurative sex?" Louis replied, "Come on, stop staring. You're going to embarrass them."

"Maybe they're into that," Harry said, shrugging before taking his phone out of his jacket pocket, "I have to send this to Gemma, she'll get a kick out of it." 

Louis widened his eyes, "Put that phone away or so help me-"

The sound of Harry taking a picture went off, and Louis knew the battle was lost. He let Harry keep taking pictures, giggling as he sent them to both Gemma and the group chat they had with Liam and Niall. Once he was finished, Louis grabbed his hand and led Harry over to the tree farm. 

Trees of all different shapes and sizes littered the path in front of them. Of course, Harry headed straight to the largest tree he could find, insisting that he had enough ornaments to decorate it with. Louis was more concerned with the height of the tree, worried they wouldn't even be able to get it to fit on top of their car, or even their flat.

While Louis loved the idea of having a gigantic tree, he interjected, "I don't think we'll be able to put that in the apartment. Maybe next year when we have an actual house."

"You're right," Harry said, his lips down turned into a frown. He pet the branches of the tree, letting it know that he would come back for it next Christmas. Louis was fairly certain that Harry knew that the tree wouldn't still be around in a year's time, but he decided not to comment on it. 

After abandoning the monstrous tree, Harry immediately fell in love with a more plausible option a couple rows over. The tree was perfect in size, standing about a foot taller than Harry, and it's branches were flawlessly spread out. They both knew that this tree was the one, and Harry went off to find the man who would cut it down for them. 

When the tree was cut and loaded onto the trailer, the lumberjack asked, "Is there anything else I could get for you?"

Tapping his chin, Harry said, "Do you happen to have any really small trees?"

"We do! They're over here," The man replied, motioning for Louis and Harry to follow him. 

Bewildered, Louis asked, "Harry, why on earth do we need two Christmas trees?" 

"One for me, one for you. The taller tree is me, and you're the tiny Christmas tree," Harry said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. 

“Alright, pick one out,” Louis replied softly.

The miniature Christmas trees were all adorable, but Harry was immediately drawn to one with branches thicker than the rest. The tiny tree was about three feet tall, and Louis could tell that Harry's mind was already searching for a place to put it in their flat. Harry told the man that this was the one he wanted, and he cut it down swiftly.

When both of the trees were cut down and ready to go, the man with the trailer brought them back over to Louis and Harry's car. He helped the couple load the bigger tree to the top of the car, strapping it down with rope so it wouldn't move during the ride home. Harry insisted that they could take care of the smaller tree themselves, and Louis paid the man for both the trees and the labor. 

Louis should have known this was a bad idea because Harry is probably the clumsiest person in the world, but alas, he didn't think about that. Harry had picked the tree up over his shoulder just like a lumberjack would, and when he turned suddenly, he ended up smacking Louis square in the face with the tree trunk. 

"Oops!" Harry said once he realized what he'd done, "Are you okay, Lou?" 

Holding the side of his face, Louis answered, "Yeah, I think."

"Shit, Lou, you're bleeding," Harry inspected the small scrape on Louis' face, "Do you have a concussion?"

"If I did, I don't think I'd realize it," Louis sassed back, hand pressing on the scrape, "I'm fine, it's just a little bit of blood." 

Harry cooed, his face full of concern, "Go sit in the car, I'll load the tree into the car. I'm going to take care of you when we get home, okay?"

Louis nodded because he'd be crazy to not take Harry up on that offer.

-

Back at the flat, Harry had insisted on taking Louis into the bathroom to clean the cut. He'd carefully cleaned it, Louis wincing at the burn of the alcohol on his face. Harry placed a small bandaid over Louis' cheek, then gave him a small kiss over the bandage. 

Maybe the fact that Harry put Louis into bed and tucked him in is a bit extra for the minor situation, but Harry really didn't care. His boyfriend was hurt, and gosh darn it, he was going to show Louis how much he appreciated him. 

While Louis lay down, Harry broke into the package of Christmas cookies they were supposed to make together. He figured that they could go to Tesco tomorrow and buy some more for the holiday season, and Louis  _really_  wouldn't mind if they had double the amount of cookies. Harry popped a batch of eleven sugar cookies into the oven, sneaking a square of cookie dough for himself. 

When the cookies were done, Harry took them out and let them cool off. After a few minutes, he piled a couple onto a plate and poured Louis a glass of milk. 

"I thought I smelled something good," Louis said hazily, sitting up in bed.

"Here I am," Harry teased, "I brought cookies, they smell pretty good too." 

Louis shook his head, laughing, "If I didn't love you because of your incredible baking skills, then I'd love you for your humbleness." 

"Shut it," Harry responded, handing Louis the glass of milk, "It's called honesty." 

"So modest," Louis said, taking a sip from his cup, "Now give me one of the world's best cookies." 

They sat, eating cookies together while Harry gave Louis kisses every time he complained about his face hurting. Maybe their first day of Christmas preparation wasn't perfect, but it's definitely something neither of them would ever forget.


End file.
